Meet Raychelle Devilla | Green Coffee Buyer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Raychelle Devilla and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Raychelle, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Our pursuit for a Philippine Specialty coffee began during our cycling days. One of our partners was from the Philippines and grew up in a coffee town. Every time he returns from his visit, he would bring back coffee for us. It was a staple growing up. The idea of putting up a coffee house was always a plan.

The initial business that we put up was The Bike Shop Coachella Valley. This inspired us to build a cafe for our cyclists and come together and hangout.

We saw an opportunity to import Philippine coffee in 2019 and support coffee farmers by introducing this rare and great tasting coffee be known to the world. We aspired to honor this specialty coffee and make it available to everyone at the cafe level and celebrate its rich history.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Varraco Coffee Roasters only roast and serve unadulterated single origin coffee.

The initial challenge was dealing directly with micro lot farmers/producers from harvest to packaging. Our utmost concern was the coffee beans were properly processed to meet government importation rules and regulations specifically during the pandemic in 2020. It took a lot of patience, time and resources to bring our product to the roastery.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

It’s a leap of faith in the “unknown” and find out its worth the shot! I had a firsthand experienced to visit coffee plantations, meet the farmers, various cooperatives/farm groups and looked at them in their eyes that our efforts were a great opportunity and chance of a lifetime. It’s a dream come true for Batangas coffee farmers when they can quadruple their crop and provide us with continuous supply of our specialty coffee and beyond.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ah! So many favorites! Day 1: Will definitely visit Tahquitz Canyon Trail. A 2-mile loop with waterfalls, Eat at Sandfish Palm Springs and Ice cream at Kreme
Day 2: Ladders Canyon in Mecca. A 5 mile moderate hike. Grab tacos at Taco Gonzales in La Quinta.
Day 3: A round of Golf in any of the 120 golf course in the Valley and happy hour at the Little Bar, they have killer burgers
Day 4: BMW Driving School at the Thermal Club and dine at Tack Room Tavern
Day 5 6 & 7: Just hang by the pool and watch the desert sunset

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My incredible partners. We started this idea pre pandemic and went thru it all during pandemic. We’ve pivot so much as how we originally envisioned the cafe and roastery. And here we are doing what we love with so much passion.

Our trader partners. The coffee producers. The people who made it all possible for us to bring coffee to the US.
And most importantly, our micro lot farmers, some only sold to us just one sack of coffee beans. They were hopeful their beloved coffee will reach other countries.

Website: varracoroasting.com

Instagram: @varracoroasters

Image Credits
Aaron Gekoski and Tara Howard